Esperanto was founded on the current situation of Esperanto, from "breaking the door" to "dozens of people"

At the 98th International Esperanto Congress, non-material cultural inheritors and folk art masters from Shandong, China and Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, interacted and exchanged with Esperanto speakers from all over the world. The picture shows the visitors have stopped to appreciate the exquisite handicrafts show. Hou He Liang photo

Gaomi from Shandong "frog" to "say" Esperanto!

Recently, at the 98th International Esperanto Congress held in Iceland, the head of the Chinese delegation said that Mo Yan's work "Frog", winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, will launch the Esperanto version. In the face of this news, many people have encountered an obstacle - what is Esperanto?

This reporter Niu Chunmei

Today happens to be the founding date of Esperanto, a 126-year history of an international auxiliary language founded by Polish ophthalmologist Chamunhoff. However, in China, after having experienced the climax of the 1980s and 1990s, it has gradually become a relatively small circle of activities in the past two decades with fewer and fewer people paying attention to it and many people even having no knowledge of Esperanto The presence.

From "squeeze the door" to "dozens of people"

Eighties and nineties of the last century is a golden age of Esperanto in China, when many people Esperanto as a livelihood and development skills, temporary rush.

An Esperanto recalled that when there was a Xinhua correspondence school in Guizhou that taught Esperanto, there were actually 400,000 people enrolled. He sent a letter to the headmaster of Xinhua Correspondence School saying, "Your letter of one day is enough for us to pick a year." Wang Yanjing, vice chairman of the Beijing Esperanto Association, introduced what time Beijing was Thousands learn Esperanto at the same time, and many of the night schools that teach Esperanto are almost overwhelmed by those who come to learn.

However, in a few years, everyone noticed that this is actually a "dragon-like technique" that has hardly any useless force in real life. The number of Esperanto speakers has rapidly dropped back. At present, there are only over 1,000 registered members of the Association of Chinese Esperanto. There are only a few dozen active members of the Beijing Esperanto Association, most of whom are elderly people who contacted Esperanto in the 1980s and 1990s.

Esperanto's development in China is still more dependent on civilian forces. Its channels of dissemination and promotion are very limited. Its lack of practicability has made its influence even weaker. There are various channels for people to understand Esperanto, some people do not intend to read the dictionary, while others are exposed to the English listening test. User nisai said he was in college, occasionally saw the Esperanto in the library book, with interest to learn a week later, found no use at all.

For today, after 80, 90, Esperanto has never existed before, Shandong girl Zhang Xiaotong was once one of them. In 2006, when Zhang Xiaotong filled in a college volunteer, her mother, who had previously learned Esperanto, chose Esperanto for her at CUHK. Mother choose this major, on the one hand because of feelings of Esperanto, on the other hand also feel that this professional is relatively small, the future will be "scraggly." Zhang Xiaotong said that they recruit a total of 11 classes, most people have never heard of Esperanto before applying for admission.

Hidden behind the deserted red fire

Zhang Xiaotong every time I talk to others about their studies in Esperanto, will encounter surprised eyes. Young people will ask, what is that stuff? Older people will be feeling, how, there are people learn this thing? Indeed, in many people's minds, Esperanto has "died" as the boom of the year passed. However, Chen Shi, vice chairman of the All-China Esperanto Association, disagrees with this view. She is more willing to pull aside the indifference of outsiders and lead people into the middle of Esperanto. There is another hot scene.

Taobao has a special Esperanto bookstore, Baidu Esla paste it, a variety of Esperanto sites, the forum is also very hot. "Dream of Red Mansions" and other four classic Chinese are introduced in Esperanto version, there are a variety of summer vacation classes.

Chen Shui-bian said that in the world, Esperanto activities in China are relatively active. Before the opening of the International Esperanto Assembly, the Icelandic president also met with the Chinese Esperanto delegation.

Chen Shih believes that since the eloquence of Esoteric learning in the 1980s and 1990s, China's Esperanto language has not completely declined. At present, the promotion of national Esperanto mainly takes the form of teaching, organizing popularization activities, various forums and lectures. In terms of teaching, in addition to the irregular recruitment of Esperanto undergraduates from Communication University of China, Esperanto teachers in some primary schools, secondary schools and universities also conduct Esperanto teaching through elective courses and school-based courses. It is understood that Yongtai Primary School in Haidian District, Beijing has opened a unique Esperanto courses, grade two primary school students will learn Esperanto a year.

Our country also owns the official Esperanto media, one is the Esperanto edition of China Newspaper's Esperanto Edition and China's Esperanto Edition, one of China International Radio's Esperanto Broadcasting, which broadcasts Chinese information to all the Esperanto speakers in various countries . This year Esperanto Museum, co-founded by the Association of Chinese Esperanto and Zaozhuang College in Shandong Province, has been commissioned at Zaozhuang College. This is also the Esperanto Museum which occupies the fourth largest in the world in terms of area.

Is the "sign" is also a pass

Hundreds of countries in some countries are learning Esperanto, only a few in some countries, they are distributed in dozens of countries around the world, thus linking a sparse but warm network. To Esperanto, the language is sometimes more like a sign or a pass. When talking about their common language, there will be a kind of relationship between them.

Wang Yanjing said that once Beijing Esperantone Zheng Bocheng had a meeting in the United States for his work, he sent an e-mail to local Esperanto speakers in advance. When he arrived in the United States, Esperanto locals rushed over and made a comprehensive travel itinerary. They lined up to take him to travel. It is strange to see him with colleagues, how he has so many friends in the United States.

Peng, an Esperanto speaker in Wuhan, will go to Europe for two months each year. His magic weapon is a booklet published by the Esperanto Association, which details the contact details of the heads of city Esperanto associations in various countries and regions. This booklet is updated every year, and Esperanto is called "New Year Book." "Yearbook" is written clearly, which city you can contact who he is willing to provide what kind of hospitality conditions, paid or unpaid, accommodation or meals, can not even smoke, are very clearly written.

In contrast, Wang Tianyi from Esperanto gain more affordable. He resigned in 1993, found himself in addition to Esperanto and then get helpless, decided to rely on Esperanto to make a living. Esperanto Association has a Esperanto Trade Organization, the equivalent of a chamber of commerce. Many Esperanto businessmen exchange business information in this organization. According to the information obtained from the chamber of commerce, Wang Tianyi understands the difference between Chinese and foreign goods and knows where to sell what is profitable. Over the years he has done a great deal of business, selling firecrackers in the Balkans, selling glass bricks and thermos flasks in Brazil. Wang Tianyi said that in Esperanto business, in addition to having a smooth communication channel, Esperanto people have a stronger sense of trust because of their common language as a cultural background.